The Wall Street Shuffle
Encyclopedia
"The Wall Street Shuffle" is a single by the British
pop/rock band 10cc
released in 1974. The song originally appears on the band's 1974 album Sheet Music
and was the second single to be released from the album after "The Worst Band in the World." It was also the most successful single to be released from the album making #10 on the British charts.
The songs is a heavy classic rock
riff driven affair with lyrics that deal with Wall Street
and the economy. It features several topical cultural references and specifically mentions Rothschild
and Howard Hughes
. In a BBC Radio Wales interview, Eric Stewart added: "We were crossing Wall Street in New York in a stretch limousine, celebrating the fact that we'd got in the charts with Rubber Bullets, and we'd gone across the big financial district of America there, and just as we were going across the street, Lol said 'Wall Street! The Wall Street Shuffle!' And I said 'Do the Wall Street Shuffle,' the melody, I had the melody in my head. But it was Lol, Lol's words. Wall Street Shuffle. And by that time I'd started writing more so I was getting a little bit more competent in what I was doing in, in the writing partnerships. And those things stay with you, as I was saying earlier on, if someone says a nice line to you or you hear something on radio, there's a part of your brain suddenly locks it in if it's good, and you'll never forget it. Until you get into the studio and start to write. And we got to the studio to, to start writing our second album, Sheet Music, and I said to Lol, 'Remember that idea, Lol, Wall Street Shuffle?' He said 'Yeah, yeah, it's a great idea, great title, but I don't think I really, I don't feel right like writing. I don't think I have anything to put in that in terms of words.' So I said, 'Well, anybody else want to write? Is anybody gonna go for this?' and Graham says 'Yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, let's try and write it.'"
The song remains popular with fans and is often performed live in concert. A live performance was included on the 2007 promotional live compilation The Best of 10cc Live
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop/rock band 10cc
10cc
10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name...
released in 1974. The song originally appears on the band's 1974 album Sheet Music
Sheet Music (album)
Sheet Music is the second album by Manchester rock band 10cc. It was released in 1974 and yielded the hit singles "The Wall Street Shuffle" and "Silly Love". The album reached No.9 in the UK and No.81 in the United States....
and was the second single to be released from the album after "The Worst Band in the World." It was also the most successful single to be released from the album making #10 on the British charts.
The songs is a heavy classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
riff driven affair with lyrics that deal with Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
and the economy. It features several topical cultural references and specifically mentions Rothschild
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
and Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
. In a BBC Radio Wales interview, Eric Stewart added: "We were crossing Wall Street in New York in a stretch limousine, celebrating the fact that we'd got in the charts with Rubber Bullets, and we'd gone across the big financial district of America there, and just as we were going across the street, Lol said 'Wall Street! The Wall Street Shuffle!' And I said 'Do the Wall Street Shuffle,' the melody, I had the melody in my head. But it was Lol, Lol's words. Wall Street Shuffle. And by that time I'd started writing more so I was getting a little bit more competent in what I was doing in, in the writing partnerships. And those things stay with you, as I was saying earlier on, if someone says a nice line to you or you hear something on radio, there's a part of your brain suddenly locks it in if it's good, and you'll never forget it. Until you get into the studio and start to write. And we got to the studio to, to start writing our second album, Sheet Music, and I said to Lol, 'Remember that idea, Lol, Wall Street Shuffle?' He said 'Yeah, yeah, it's a great idea, great title, but I don't think I really, I don't feel right like writing. I don't think I have anything to put in that in terms of words.' So I said, 'Well, anybody else want to write? Is anybody gonna go for this?' and Graham says 'Yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, let's try and write it.'"
The song remains popular with fans and is often performed live in concert. A live performance was included on the 2007 promotional live compilation The Best of 10cc Live
The Best of 10cc Live
The Best of 10cc Live is a 2007 live compilation album by the pop band 10cc. The album was given away free with the British newspaper The Mail On Sunday in June 2007 to promote the band's 2007 June/July U.K. tour and the recent release of the studio compilation Greatest Hits .....
.
Covers
- ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
singer Anni-Frid LyngstadAnni-Frid LyngstadAnni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...
recorded a Swedish-language version called "Guld och gröna ängar" (with Swedish lyrics by Owe Junsjö) on her solo album "Frida ensamFrida ensamFrida ensam is a solo album by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The album was produced by her fiancé, ABBA member Benny Andersson and was first released by Polar Music in 1975. It has since been re-released several times, most significantly in remastered form in 2005 with bonus tracks...
".
7" vinyl
Chart performance
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
10 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
1 |
| German Singles Chart | 43 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
9 |